


Angel in disguise

by Wolfie_14



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Kid Daryl Dixon, Mute Daryl Dixon, Muteness, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-24 19:41:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30077340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfie_14/pseuds/Wolfie_14
Summary: When the dead started walking, Merle and his 16-year old mute brother find Rick's group and join them. Can the group unravel the mystery that is named Daryl Dixon?
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo, I don't really know where I'm taking this story. I have a chapter 2 almost ready to upload.  
> Getting into Merle's head and making everything that he says believable, made me want to quit writing, so he could be a little off oc.  
> English isn't my first language, so ignore the mistakes or just, you know, point them out. That could be helpful. 
> 
> Enjoy!

**Chapter 1**

I’m Merle, that’s my baby brother, Daryl. Don’t bother speaking to him, he don’t talk!

Was the introduction the group got from the oldest Dixon. After that, everyone went back to their daily tasks, wondering where these brothers came from and if they were dangerous or not.

**One week later**

The woman in the group were washing the clothes in the lake and gossiping about the new group members.

‘They’re rednecks. Have you seen how Merle looks at T-dog and Glenn? They are dangerous, I’m telling you.’ Lori was saying to the group.

‘Yeah, but what’s the deal with the other one? I mean, he doesn’t speak? At all?’ Andrea chirped in, curious about the youngest Dixon.

‘Haven’t heard him say a word, not even to his brother.’ Amy added, and then ‘he’s cute though’ which earned her a glare from Lori and Andrea and a laugh from Carol and Jacqui.

‘Don’t even think about it, Amy. Probably too young for you anyway.’ Andrea answered.

‘What? He can’t be younger than 15.’ She shrugged, glancing over to her sister, waiting for her reaction. Knowing that Amy was kidding, Andrea just rolled her eyes.

‘Yeah, how old is he actually? Does anybody know? Does anybody know anything about those two, besides that Merle is an asshole and the little shit doesn’t speak?’ Lori wondered out loud, the hatred for the two men clear in her voice, changing the relaxed mood in the group.

‘Maybe, he just hasn’t got much to say. You know, actions speak louder than words, and all that.’ Jacqui tried to lighten the mood again, winking at Carol. Lori scoffed at that.

‘He’s a real brat if he thinks that he can get away with not speaking at that age.’ She added.

‘Maybe he doesn’t know how’

‘Or he’s slow, you know retarded. With a brother like that, I wouldn’t be surprised if his family wasn’t any better.’

Three of the woman giggled, while the other two were shaking their head, disapproving.

‘Daryl is not re….’ Carol started to say when suddenly they heard a noise coming from behind the rocks. When they looked up, they were met with the back of a clearlyangry Daryl who was making his way back to the camp and the ladies looked at each other alarmed.

‘Omg, how much do you think he heard?’ Amy gasped.

‘I don’t know, probably everything, why was he even sneaking up on us?’ Lori asked, an annoyed look over her face. She didn’t want anything to do with the brothers and now one of them knew it, she thought to herself. Well, it was the one that didn’t speak, so she didn’t worry about Merle finding out about what they had said.

‘He had his crossbow, maybe he was hunting and heard us.’ Carol offered, defending the kid.

‘Pff, yeah right!’ Lori scoffed, and went back to her task.

Carol didn’t understand her problem with the Dixons. Merle was an asshole and she could understand why everyone stayed away from him. But Daryl had went back into the woods the first day they arrived and had hunted a couple of squirrels to eat for dinner. After that, he went out every day, providing the group with enough food that no one was afraid to go hungry again. And still, everyone treated him like he was dirt. Carol had tried to talk to him, but like Merle mentioned, she didn’t get an answer back. That didn’t stop her though. Every day, when he would bring over the catch of the day, she would give him a compliment or say something funny just to see his reaction. At first, he walked away from her, head down and blushing. Then, he would look at her like she lost her mind but yesterday, she could swear she saw the beginning of a small smile at the corner of his lips, before Merle walked into camp, yelling for his baby brother to help him set up the fire, as he ducked his head and walked off. Carol saw it as a victory, and decided to try and make him laugh at least once a day.

As Daryl stomped back to camp, he was debating if he should tell Merle what he heard or just pack up and leave. He was furious. How dare they speak about him like that when they don’t even know him. Olive oil made it perfectly clear what she thought about his brother and him, like he refused to talk. As if Daryl was pretending this whole non-speaking thing. Clearly, she never had a worry in her life before the dead started walking if she thought that. And what was it the young blond bitch said? That he was cute? Daryl ain’t cute, he’s tough, like his brother, goddammit!

But most of the anger was aimed at the bitch that called him retarded. She was going to pay for it sooner or later! That was a promise Daryl didn’t intend to break!

When he reachedthe camp, he stormed passed the others, straight to his tent.

‘What got ya panties in a bunch, Darleena?’ Came Merle’s mocking voice. Daryl turned around, glaring at his older brother. Merle took in his baby brothers stance, shoulders tense, hands balled up beside him and he was gritting his teeth so hard Merle thought he would break his jaw,and realized he was really pissed.

‘What got you so worked up?’ he asked, the mocking left behind. Daryl pointed angrily towards the lake, where he just came from.

‘What? The fish don’t bite?’ Merle laughed a little, noticing how the others had stopped what they were doing and were watching him communicate with his brother.

Daryl just flipped him off and turned around.

‘Hey!’ Merle yelled out, reached for Daryl’s arm and turned him back around violently, which made Daryl drop his crossbow. Shane and Rick, who where watching from around the fire pit, took a step forward, ready to intervene if it was necessary.

Daryl yanked his arm free and pushed against Merles chest with both fists, which got him a smack against the back of his head in return.

‘Calm down, ya idiot!Ya know I can’t understand ya if ya act like this!’ 

Daryl started pacing, back and forth in front of his brother, already getting annoyed that everyone was watching them. He has to find a way of telling his brother that he wants to leave and when he was about to turn around and grab his bag, he saw the women of the group re-enter the campground. He stopped in his tracks and glared at them, blowing air out of his nose and gritting his teeth. Merle saw the change in his brothers behavior and followed Daryls glare to the oldest of the blond sisters.

‘What? She didn’t wanna put out, little bro?’ Merle laughed, licking his lips while he looked her up and down. Before he knew it his brother had lunched towards the group of ladies, blowing air out of his nose like a damn bull on a mission. It took him a second to realizes what Daryl was about to do before he found himself moving, grabbing after his brother before he could do something stupid and get them kicked out of the group. Luckily the two former officers were stil watching and were fast enough to intervene, before Daryls fist connected with the now stunned Andrea. Amy and Jacqui had seen Daryl coming and had pulled her back. Shane and Rick wrestled Daryl to the ground, saying things he couldn’t understand because of his heart pounding in his ears. It was only after Merle had yelled to let his brother go, that he was hearing what was going on around him.

‘Let him go!’

‘Only if he’s calm.’ Shane stated dryly, making his point by pushing Daryls shoulder in the ground before he could fight him off.

‘Yeah, well, holding him down won’t work, officer, trust me.’ Merle answered just as dryly, while he was bending over, trying to make eye contact with his brother.

‘Yo! Idiot, you done fighting women? What did I teach ya, huh? Going at a woman like that? We don’t hit women.’

‘We don’t hit anybody.’ Rick added, in a way that it was not only directed at Daryl but also at Merle, who smirked and motioned to let his brother go. Shane looked at Rick for confirmation so Rick made eye contact with Daryl.

‘Are you calm?’ He asked in that typical officer voice, which wasn’t really helping to calm down. Daryl lifted his head up, glaring at Rick and huffing a bit.

‘Are you calm?’ He asked again, now with more power in his voice. Realizing that the whole group was watching and he wasn’t going to get out of the hard grip Shane had on him, he huffed again, letting all the tension leave his body as he nodded at Rick, eyes down.

‘Okay’ Rick said and gave Shane the signal to let Daryl up. The second he felt Shane’s grip fade, he stood up, brushing his clothes into place and taking his place next to his brother.

‘So, want to tell us what that was about?’

Daryl shrugged, still glaring at the women who where standing behind the two former officers. Rick looked behind him at his wife, who was giving him a look that said ‘I told you so’. He looked at the other women in the group. Two of them looked quite guilty which convinced Rick that Daryl had a good reason for his outburst. Now the only thing he had to manage, was trying to get it out of the teenager. When he turned around again, Daryl and Merle were in some kind of silent conversation with Daryl pointing at the women, back at the tent and then towards the woods.

‘We ain’t leaving, Darleena, so pull that stick out of your ass and tell me why you’re acting like a little bitch.’ Daryl huffed again and glared at his brother. After that they were talking with facial expressions again. Daryl glaring over at Lori, then Amy and then at Andrea, before looking back at his brother, carefully putting his hand on his throat, pleading with his eyes for his brother to understand what he was saying, before putting two fingers against his temple. Rick and the others watched the two bothers, trying to figure out what Daryl was telling his older brother. Merle had it figured out already, being able to just understand his baby brother with a few gestures and the look in his eyes. As if the whole group wasn’t watching their conversation, Merle grabbed Daryl’s neck gentle, giving him a reassuring squeeze before turning back to the group. If Rick hadn’t seen the soft gesture between the brothers, Merle wouldn’t have shown it it anyway. His expression back to what it was before, hard and closed off.

‘Listen up!’ He spoke, catching not only the attention of the group in front of him but also the others that were still ‘working’ around the camp, keeping an eye on the situation but pretending not to.

‘I already told you when we met that Daryl doesn’t speak, so if _anyone_ has anything to say about it, I suggest you keep your mouth shut before one of my fists beats you to it.”With that he turned around, put an arm around Daryl’s shoulder and was going to lead them to their tent. But before he could actually take a step, there was a huff and some mumbling coming from behind the two former officers. He turned back around, clearing angrier then before. Obviously trying to keep the situation from escalating, Rick stepped forward with his palms up.

‘Nothing, Merle. It was nothing. We’ll leave Daryl alone, promise.’ Another huff was heard and Rick turned towards the noise with a look that said ‘are you serious?’. The only difference this time was that Merle and Daryl had actually seen who was making the noise with the accompanied eye rolling. Daryl started pacing behind his brother, clearly trying to aim his anger at the ground and the several stones he kicked at with his feet.

‘You got something to say, olive oil?’ Merle started, while taking a step forward. Even though Shane and Rick, and now also T-dog en Glenn, were standing between the two brothers and the women of the group, Lori took a step back. She realized what she was doing and decided that no, she wasn’t going to back down from a racist redneck like Merle Dixon. She held her head up and took a step forward.

‘Matter of fact, I have.’ She started, making all the men turn around, looking at her like she was crazy. Rick mouthed her name, shaking his head but she ignored him.

‘Go on then’ Merle challenged, making it pretty clear he didn’t really want to hear it.

‘I think it is pretty brattish for a boy that age to refuse to speak. So I say he just sucks it up whatever he is dealing with and start talking like the other kids in our camp. Now more than ever, it is important to…’

‘Daryl!’ Merle yelled annoyed when he had to hold his brother back. He yanked at Daryls shirt, so hard that he basically threw his little brother on the ground behind him. With a glare, Daryl stood back up but Merle was already talking again.

‘Listen up, fruitcakes. If daryl could actually speak, he would blabber our ears off, believe me. Used to do it all the time, little kid couldn’t shut up. But now, he can’t so there is nothing to be done about it.’ At that, Daryls anger was aimed at his brother, with a strong fist he hit his brother in his arm, Merle barely moved but knew why his brother was angry.

‘Don’t be like that, darleena. At least, they’ll stop calling you slow for now.’ Merle grinned and nodded his head towards the two blond sister who had started all this. Andrea wondered how Merle had figured out what they had said, with only the vague gestures and looks of Daryl, but before she could say anything, Daryl had lunched at Merle, making the two brothers wrestle each other to the ground. When Merle had the upper hand, he straddled his baby bother and socked him right in the nose. Rick and Shane had moved to untangle the two when it happened, and both them and Merle thought that would be it but Daryl was barely fazed by the hit and the blood now streaming from his nose. He kept struggling and pushing at Merle, when finally his big brother was lifted off of him. It was only now that he registers all the shouts and gasps coming from the group, accompanied by the pain that he suddenly fell from his nose.

‘No more fighting!’ Rick yelled, as Merle yanked him loose from the hold he and Shane had on him. He held up his hands, a smirk on his face.

‘Whatever you say, officer friendly.’Rick nodded and looked expectantly at Daryl, who didn’t say anything, just turned around, snatched his crossbow from where he dropped it earlier and disappeared into the woods. All the concerned questions from some of the women and one guy ignored. With that, everyone went to go do what they were doing.

‘Mama?’ Sophia spoke up, making her mom turn around.

‘Why was Daryl and Merle fighting?’ She asked curiously but also a bit shocked off what just had happened. Nobody had seen the two children walk back into camp, after collecting some dry wood for the fire.

Carol walked over to her daughter and put an arm around her shoulder. ‘They just had a disagreement, honey.’ She gently said, looking at Sophia and Carl.

‘You’re not supposed to fight then, right mom?’ Carl asked, looking at Lori.

‘That’s right, Carl. But I think that Merle and his brother never really learned that.’ She answered sadly. Carol looked up at her, confused but also relieved that Lori finally showed some empathy toward the two bothers.

‘Daryl’s nose was bleeding.’ Sophie stated, with a hint of a question.  
‘ I know, baby. We’ll see if he’s alright when he comes back.’ Carol padded Sophia on her back and the four went back to what they were doing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is a shorter one. I kind off got stuck with the dialogue and went a whole different direction then I actually planned, but what do you know, these characters live their own lives (in my head) 
> 
> Enjoy!!!

It was almost dark when Daryl came back to the camp, a couple of squirrels hanging over his shoulder. Like always, he made his way towards Carol where she was cooking their dinner for tonight. He ignored the knowing look he got from his brother, telling him he shouldn’t stay out that late in the dark, when he passed him. When he was almost there, Carol looked up. 

‘Daryl, see you got something we can work with.’ She said smiling, trying to make eye contact with him. Daryl just stretch his arm so she could take the squirrels, avoiding her gaze. His nose had stopped bleeding a while ago, but there was still a sign of the hit he took earlier. Blue and purple visible under his eyes, that were still not looking at Carol. 

‘You want some dinner?’ Carol asked cheerfully, knowing from experience that after something like that, nobody wants to talk about it, even if Daryl would be able to. Daryl just shrugged, shuffling his feet as he looked over at where his brother was sitting.   
‘Why don’t you go and sit over there with Carl and Sophia? I’ll bring your dinner in a minute.’ She said, realizing that questions weren’t going to be answered and doing what he was told was apparently way easier than making decision himself. He glanced over where the other kids were sitting around a fire, laughing while they were poking it with a stick. Noticing his hesitation, Carol stirred in her pot and smelled audibly. 

‘Smells nice,right?   
No response  
‘You want some?’   
No response, except for the thumb that went to his mouth to nibble at his nail.   
‘I made it with the possum you brought back yesterday’   
A sideway glance.  
’T-dog came back for seconds.’   
Eyes still on Carol, thumb still against his mouth.  
’Till I told him what it was.’ She added, with a wink and a small laugh.   
That earned her a snort followed with a small smile. 

‘Go on, then’ she said softly, nodding her head in the direction of her daughter and the other boy.   
Slowly, he turned around and started walking towards the fire. Carol kept watching, and smiled when Daryl finally sat down, keeping his distance from the other kids. 

‘Does your nose still hurt?’ Sophia asked, looking at Daryl while still poking the fire with a stick. Daryl looked at her, first surprised, then embarrassed before his face turned into a scowl, in only a couple of seconds. He turned his attention back on the fire but could see Carl leaning towards Sophia, whispering something in her ear which made her scoff a little.   
‘He’s not dangerous.’ She told Carl, trying to whisper but not caring enough if Daryl actually heard her. 

Daryl didn’t react, even though he wanted to. Yes, he was dangerous! Why wasn’t this little girl afraid of him? He was just as dangerous as his brother. Hadn’t they seen that he was the one that attacked him? Of course Merle had the upper hand quite quickly, but he got some hits in there too. But even though Daryl wanted them to be afraid of him just like they were of his big brother, he was also a little bit relieved that a girl the age of Sophia didn’t back off, just like her mother. It was on the first day that Daryl had noticed how Ed, Sophia’s dad, had looked at him. It made him shiver and unconsciously, he had taken a step back to shield himself behind Merle. He had seen the look his brother gave the other man, and knew that Merle also figured out what kind of man Ed really was. They weren’t the only ones that were relieved when Ed didn’t come back after a run into the city. The camp stayed the same. But the two women who were living under the constant fear of husband or dad, finally were able to breath and find their place in the group. Daryl decided that he liked Carol after the first day, when she had tried to make him laugh when he handed her the catch of the day. He hadn’t even looked at her before turning around and walking away, but he was glad that at least one of the adults was trying to talk to him. He also didn’t forget that Carol was the one that was going to defend him, even though he didn’t exactly hear what she was about to say. The others in the camp were okay, he guessed, but that was before he heard the others talk about him like he was stupid. The former officers still thought that they were above the law, just like before the dead started walking. He didn’t trust them, but the authoritative voice of Rick had managed to calm him down. He decided then that Rick was an okay guy but wasn’t going to mention it to his brother. That would earn him another smack against the head, and he had enough of those for today. You know what would also get him a beating? The fact that he actually liked Glenn, because he talked to him but wasn’t actually waiting for an answer. Glenn was great with the other kids, and had tried to involve Daryl on the second day when they were skipping stones. He had refused but sat on one of the bigger rocks to watch. He could hear Glenn telling funny stories and making jokes, eventually splashing water on the other kids, turning it into a water fight. Daryl hadn’t participated but he was relaxed and forgot about the dead for a while. Glenn made Daryl feel like he was his own person and had seen through the tough act he put on when his brother was around. He had also noticed the way Daryl shuffled uncomfortably every time Merle would make an Asian joke or call T-dog the n-word. Daryl might be raised by his brother, but he knew the color of your skin didn’t mean shit. Merle would beat the shit out of him if he ever said that out loud, questioning the upbringing of his brother and the rest of the Dixon family, so he kept his mouth shut, glaring at everyone so Merle wouldn’t find out that he started to like the group, at least some of them. When he had stalked off after the fight, it took a while to calm down. When he did, he came to his senses and realized that in a group the chance of survival was higher than being on your own, even if you knew how to hunt. 

Being in his own head, he hadn’t heard Carol approach with his dinner so when she put her hand on his shoulder after calling his name a couple of times, his instinct told him to get away as fast as possible. With a clearly visible flinch, Daryl jerked away from the burning hand and fell off the tree trunk he was sitting on.   
‘I’m so sorry, Daryl. I didn’t mean to scare you.’ Carol immediately said, a friendly face but with the hint of sadness in her eyes. Daryl stood back up, awkwardly shifting his weight as if he wanted to bold out of this situation.   
‘Here’ she said and handed him a cup with the stew she was cooking earlier. Avoiding eye contact, Daryl reached for the cup and nodded slightly as a thanks. He sat down again, now with his back to the woods so he got a clear view of the rest of the camp and started eating. 

After a while Sophia got curious.   
‘How come you don’t speak?’ She asked, the innocents clear on her face. She didn’t mean to make Daryl angry, she just really wanted to know why the boy a couple of years older then her couldn’t talk. She heard what Merle had said, about not being able to even though he wanted to talk, so she decided it was okay to ask. Carol had heard her from where she was cooking, and was about to tell her to leave the kid alone, when she saw Daryl first tense up but then relaxed and shrugged. She thought he would get angry, or just ignore her daughter, but the lack of adults around and being out of ear shot from his brother, made him react and Carol figured she would just keep an eye on them and let her daughter ask the questions she wanted to ask. 

‘But you were able to, right?’   
Another shrug, and Carl pulling on Sophia’s blanket.   
‘That’s what your brother said.’   
A glance towards the two smaller kids. Carl shrinking in on himself, hiding a little bit more under his own blanket. Daryl suppressed a smirk at the reaction of the 10-year old and took a mouthful of his dinner. At least, he still had an effect on the Grimes boy.   
‘Do you know how to speak?’   
Another glance, but this time he didn’t ignore the question. He looked at Sophia, an innocent 12-year old, and tried to figure out if she was making fun of him or not. When the only thing he saw in her eyes was curiosity, he looked around the camp. All the adults were doing whatever they were doing and Merle was at their tent so he couldn’t hear the questions of the girl. If he noticed that Carol took a step forward when Sophia started asking questions, he just ignored it.   
After checking that no one was paying attention to the teenagers, except the girl’s mother, Daryl nodded. Delighted that she finally got a decent answer, Sophia thought about her next question. After a silent minute, where Carl got curious too and shifted closer to Sophia again, she came up with one.

‘So, It’s your voice that is not working?’ She asked, carefully, not knowing if she was crossing a line or not. Carol heard her daughter and watched as Daryl was contemplating answering or not. She had figured something out along the lines of that when Daryl had touched his throat during his argument with Merle, but a confirmation of the kid himself would stop her worrying and thinking all together.

A whole minute passed by before Daryl shyly nodded and took another bite of his food, avoiding the stares of the two kids beside him. 

‘How come?’ Carl spoke suddenly, his voice just above a whisper. Carol thought that Daryl hadn’t heard the question when he didn’t react, but the way his shoulders tensed told her that he heard it just fine, he just didn’t want to answer. She didn’t know how he would react if the kids kept asking, so she stepped towards them. 

‘You want some more?’ She asked, nodding towards the empty cup Daryl was holding. This time he had seen her coming, and didn’t flinch when she reached for his cup. Looking uncertain about the offer, Daryl looked beside her at his brother who was busy sharpening a knife in front of their tent.  
‘It’s okay, we still have some and it won’t be any good tomorrow.’ She added, smiling friendly at Daryl. Hesitantly, he gave the cup to her and nodded.   
‘Okay, I’ll be right back.’ She smiled again, and was relieved when she saw Daryl relax his shoulders again. 

‘So, how did you lose your voice?’ Sophia asked, when her mom had left.   
Another shrug this time.   
‘Did you yell really loud? Cuz, my mom once said I could lose my voice if I keep screaming for her when I want something.’ Carl chirped in, almost rolling his eyes when he mentioned the last part.   
A small chuckle and a shaking head.   
‘Did you get sick?’ Sophia asked, and then added.  
‘Because a boy in my class couldn’t hear anymore after an ear infection, did you get a throat infection?’   
Daryl glanced back up to the kids, biting his lip and looked down at the fire again. he shook his head, hoping that they would leave it alone for now and was relieved when Carol came back with his seconds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo? What do you think? How did Daryl lose his voice? And how old was he?   
> Let me know! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
